Riding a wave: Elon men win in OT

Published: Monday, November 19, 2012 at 01:07 AM.

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“We had to focus on defense,” Isenbarger said. “We had to fight on the defensive end, and had to keep looking to be aggressive. It paid off.”

The Phoenix (3-1), based on the offensive numbers, was fortunate. Elon shot less than 34 percent and was outrebounded by 48-37. Florida Atlantic (1-3) scored more second-chance points (12-7), and the Owls’ bench outscored Elon 24-7. But it was the defense made up for those numbers.

“This was a defensive win,” Matheny said. “I thought we fought and defended really well in the second half, and it turned out to be a huge second half. Our veteran leadership was tremendous as we went down the stretch in regulation and overtime, and I’m very pleased to come out with a win.”

Florida Atlantic went on a 16-6 run, fueled by Moody’s eight points, and took a 31-22 lead at the break.

“We started off cold,” Troutman said. ”But, we knew we had to come out in the second half fighting. We had to keep being the aggressor, and we knew that our shots would start falling.”

After trailing 37-24 — its largest deficit of the game with 17 minutes remaining — Elon went on a 12-2 run during the next nine minutes to knot the game at 39-39.

In that stretch, the Phoenix forced eight turnovers. This defensive pressure was the main reason the Phoenix outscored Florida Atlantic 15-2 in points off turnovers for the game.

Troutman’s performance, coupled with Saturday’s output, was enough to earn the mainland regional Most Valuable Player. In the two games, Troutman recorded 34 points, 17 rebounds and 13 blocked shots.

“That was fun,” said coach Matt Matheny, after his team rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to win its third game in a row. “For us to win a tournament like this is a great honor, and it’s huge for Elon.”

In overtime, Isenbarger scored nine of Elon’s 14 points, none bigger than his 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining. His jumper gave Elon a 55-53 lead, and the Phoenix didn’t trail again. Freshman Stefan Moody, though, kept the Owls close, and the final outcome was decided when Isenbarger knocked down two free throws with two seconds left.

“We had to focus on defense,” Isenbarger said. “We had to fight on the defensive end, and had to keep looking to be aggressive. It paid off.”

The Phoenix (3-1), based on the offensive numbers, was fortunate. Elon shot less than 34 percent and was outrebounded by 48-37. Florida Atlantic (1-3) scored more second-chance points (12-7), and the Owls’ bench outscored Elon 24-7. But it was the defense made up for those numbers.

“This was a defensive win,” Matheny said. “I thought we fought and defended really well in the second half, and it turned out to be a huge second half. Our veteran leadership was tremendous as we went down the stretch in regulation and overtime, and I’m very pleased to come out with a win.”

Florida Atlantic went on a 16-6 run, fueled by Moody’s eight points, and took a 31-22 lead at the break.

“We started off cold,” Troutman said. ”But, we knew we had to come out in the second half fighting. We had to keep being the aggressor, and we knew that our shots would start falling.”

After trailing 37-24 — its largest deficit of the game with 17 minutes remaining — Elon went on a 12-2 run during the next nine minutes to knot the game at 39-39.

In that stretch, the Phoenix forced eight turnovers. This defensive pressure was the main reason the Phoenix outscored Florida Atlantic 15-2 in points off turnovers for the game.

“We were able to finally create some energy,” Troutman said. “Our crowd got involved, and we fed off of it.”

Elon finally grabbed its first lead since the first half at 48-46 on an Isenbarger 3-pointer with two minutes remaining in regulation. Fifteen seconds later, Florida Atlantic’s Greg Gantt’s jumper tied the game.

Neither team scored again in regulation. Moody missed a layup, then had his next attempt blocked by Troutman. On the other end, Troutman missed a floater at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Moody led the Owls with a game-high 22 points, and Gantt added 11 points.

-- COLGATE 88, COPPIN STATE 84: In the first game, Colgate held on after leading for most of the game. The Raiders (2-3) were led by Pat Moore’s 31 points, including seven 3-pointers. Moore scored 23 of his points in the first half.

Coppin State (0-4) pulled within 86-84 with eight seconds remaining after a Troy Franklin 3-pointer. Colgate’s Damon Sherman-Newsome hit two free throws with three seconds left to ice the victory. Andre Armstrong and Michael Murray paced the Eagles with 16 points apiece.